Tuesday, July 15, 2008

I love the imagination! It's the best! This has been a life-long love affair - although not always a conscious one. I have loved exploring my inner world, through daydreams and night dreams. Also, I've always made things - cut-and-paste as a child, quilted wallhangings as a young adult, and now intuitive paintings. In the making, I have felt deeply at home, at one with mySelf.

As an adult, for the last umpteen years, I have explored spirituality and consciousness. Who am I? Why am I here? Where do I belong? Whom am I serving? These have been some of the questions that have guided me on my inner journey. Learning how to bring awareness to all aspects of life - that is the challenge!

Ten years ago - can it be that long already? - I wanted to learn how to successfully self-publish my own books. If I could do that, I imagined, I would be creating a bridge from my inner world - that happy, abundant, alive place - with the outer world of manifestation and doing. I would be able to bring my gifts to the world.

I met an author, John Kehoe, who had been wildly successful in self-publishing - at the time having sold over half a million copies of his book Mindpower. He offered a class on how to manifest (long before The Secret!) I imagined that what I would learn was a description of how the mind actually worked in order to manifest - you know, a how-to manual of theunderlying structure of the mind. Although the class was helpful - we were given many exercises where we had to use our imaginations - the manual was missing. (And I'm grateful that it was - thanks John!)

I can remember sitting on a green fabric-covered chair, in a crowded and darkened hotel conference room, excitement in the air - we too could manifest our dreams like John had done! In popped these thoughts: he isn't explaining how the mind and/or imagination works, just that it works. Something is missing here. Anyway, what is the imagination, really?

At which point I had a little conversation with the Universe - my response to the inspiration I had just received. DC to universe: Now that's a good question! A very good question! Oh, You want me to do something with the question? Like what? Just keep asking the question and see what happens. Ok, that I can do!

So, it is true, for ten years I have been asking the question, of myself and many, many others: What is the imagination, really? It's been quite the trip! And now - who would have imagined it back then - I get to blog about - THE IMAGINIATION! I can hardly wait.

And, perhaps, while you wait for the next installment, you might ask yourself: What is the imagination?

-------------------------Diana Claire Douglas is an intuitive painter, sometime writer, educator and creativity and publishing coach. She has painted innumerable paintings and published three books. She loves asking big questions that take her on great adventures! One of these questions is: What is the imagination, really? So far she has asked over 120 people this question as well as kept a journal for two years on how she uses her own imagination. She has learned a lot about the imagination and hopes to keep on learning more by sharing her rants and raves on this blog. One of her websites is www.paintingwithspirit.com